A Twist of Fate
by TriggerGirl
Summary: Harry would know her anywhere. Her warm honey brown eyes filled with tears and her small hands flew to her mouth to stifle her gasp. Harry felt his knees go weak and tightened his hold on the banister. He was speechless. This was impossible. She was dead. Harmony! Rated T just to be safe... but the rating may change!


**Summary:** It's been five years since Voldemort's defeat. While Harry survived, he suffered a devastating loss that took him a year to recover from. Once he did, he became an Auror. After training for three years, he took over the DECIT Wizards. A specialized team whose main objectives is to capture and interrogate Death Eaters. While on a mission, Harry is hit with a spell that he's never seen before and the effects are more amazing then he could have imagined. Could this be his second chance with the Witch he lost? HP/HG. Rating may change.

**Author's Note:** I have always thought that Harry and Hermione were much better for each other than Ron and Hermione… my own personal opinion… and I got this idea. It's been kind of stewing in my brain for a few days and I finally decided that I had to write it! I'm really bad at summaries so I'm sorry if it didn't seem good… but I'm hoping that you'll enjoy reading this fanfiction as much as I'll enjoy writing it! Please leave me some reviews and I'll be sure to add more chapters!

* * *

**A Twist of Fate  
****Chapter One**

_ The battle seemed to have been going on forever. Harry had already gone into the Forbidden Forest and had willingly let Voldemort kill him. Only… he didn't die. The horcrux that was inside of him had been destroyed. He had jumped from Hagrid's arms, throwing the invisibility cloak over himself and watched as the battle had made it's way into the Great Hall. He was watching Hermione. She seemed to be dancing. Her movements were fluid and graceful, her face scrunched in concentration as spell after spell fell from her perfect lips… lips that he had kissed. He couldn't believe how much closer they had gotten after Ron had left, but he knew, without a doubt, that he loved Hermione Granger. He let his eyes linger on Hermione for a second more before pulling off the invisibility cloak and revealing himself to the crowd. The fighting stopped and the Great Hall went silent._

"_Harry!"_

_Many people had shouted his name, but Hermione's rose above the rest. He didn't dare look at her. He kept his attention focused on Voldemort. They circled each other and Harry taunted him. He could tell Voldemort was getting angry, it was what he wanted. He needed Voldemort's judgment to be clouded. His anger would slow him down. He watched as Voldemort raised his wand and he did the same. They shouted their spells and red and green shout out of their wands and clashed in the middle. A deafening boom sounded, shaking the walls. Harry paid it no heed; he willed all of his strength into the spell, watched as his red light over powered the green. Then the spell rebounded and hit Voldemort square in the chest. With a strange sense of detachment, Harry watched as Voldemort's eyes widened and froze, before he fell over, dead. There was silence and then people started shouting. Harry was in a daze. Voldemort was really dead? He stared at the slack face of his parent's killer and relief poured through him. It was over. It was finally over! Suddenly, another scream sounded, this one shrill and terrified. Harry turned around to see a Death Eater, raising his wand. He fumbled for his own, but he knew it was too late. He watched the jet of green light head towards him in slow motion, but then he was shoved out of the way and Hermione was suspended in mid-air. She was surrounded by the green glow, her hair flowing around her face and then time sped back up and she was falling._

"_Hermione!"_

_An anguished cry tore itself from Harry's lips as he gathered Hermione's limp form into his arms. Tears streamed down his face as he rocked her, smoothing her hair back. He knew there was nothing he could do for her, but he couldn't stop the pleas he was uttering. His 'Mione was gone._

* * *

Harry sat up in bed, panting. It had been five years since Hermione's death and it had been months since he had re-lived it in his dreams. He had hoped that he was finally over her. He had moved on, yes, but he would always love her. He swung his legs over the side of his bed and put his head in his hands. It had taken him years to let go of her. The first year he had spiraled into depression when he found out she had been pregnant with their child at the time of her death. They were together a few times while they were hunting for Horcruxes after Ron had left them. It had been the best few weeks of Harry's life and that was all the time he had gotten. True, he had gotten seven years of friendship with her, but he had wanted to explore their new relationship. He wanted Hermione to be in his life with every fiber of his being.

"Harry, are you alright?"

He turned when he heard Ginny's sleepy voice, "I'm fine, Gin. Just a nightmare. Go back to sleep."

Ginny nodded and closed her eyes. Harry brushed a stray strand of hair from her face and she took the opportunity to kiss his palm. Ginny had been the one to bring him out of his depression. He owed her his life. She had convinced him to train as an Auror. He spent three years in training and once he was a full-fledged Auror, he had taken over the DECIT Wizards. He and Ginny had only been dating for a year, he felt too guilty to date her any time before then. Sometimes he still felt guilty, but then he would remind himself that Hermione would want him to be happy and he would swallow his guilt. Sighing softly, he kissed Ginny's forehead before getting out of bed. He had to be up soon, anyway. His team had a mission to execute this morning. They had received intel on a Death Eater hide out and were going to flush them out. He changed into his robes quietly and left their room. He grabbed some toast and left a note for Ginny when she woke up. He made sure he had everything he needed before disapperating to Grimmauld Place. He had turned it into the official headquarters of the DECIT Wizards. It was much better than always meeting at the Ministry of Magic. Harry had too many bad memories there.

"Potter."

Harry jumped slightly at the sound of Draco Malfoy's voice. He wasn't expecting anyone to be here so early. Harry had testified at Draco and Narcissa's trial. He had told the Wizengamot that Draco had protected his identity when they were captured and taken to Malfoy Manor and how Narcissa had lied to Voldemort about his death. They had been given a year of house arrest. They were monitored and if they needed to go out, their wands were taken from them and they were escorted to Diagon Alley only. Lucius, on the other hand, had been sent to Azkaban. Once Draco had finished his sentence, he had joined the Auror training with Harry where they slowly developed a friendship.

"Malfoy. How's Astoria and the baby?" Harry asked, sitting down on the couch next to him.

"She's doing great," Draco beamed proudly at Harry, "Scorpius is a fussy little brat but we absolutely adore him."

"That's good! I'm glad to hear it," Harry clasped Draco's shoulder, "And I'm glad that you're back in time for this raid."

"Me, too," Draco said, "Have you thought more about proposing to Ginny?"

"I don't know," Harry sighed, leaning back against the couch, "I mean, I love her and I know Ron keeps pushing it on me, but I don't think I'm ready. I still dream about her, you know… mostly about her death, but about the good times, too."

"We all know that Granger would want nothing more than for you to be happy," Draco said softly.

Harry scrubbed his hands down his face, "I know she would, but sometimes I feel like the guilt is suffocating me. I should have proposed to Hermione. We should have had a happy little family. Our baby would have been almost five by now."

"It's been five years, Harry. She wouldn't want you to deprive the she-weasel of a healthy, loving relationship."

Harry cracked a smile at Draco's old nickname for Ginny and they sat in silence until the rest of the team started arriving. The other members of his team consisted of Ron Weasley, Terry Boot, Michael Corner, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Seamus Finnigan, Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini, and Dean Thomas. There were ten of them altogether and if they needed more Aurors, Harry would just call the Head Auror for backup. Harry was glad that most of them had been members of Dumbledore's Army, but Draco had vouched for Theo and Blaise and they quickly became trusted members of the team. Harry quickly went over the details of the raid once more before they split up into pairs. They were heading to a decent sized cabin on the outskirts of London. Harry thought it best for them to surround it from all sides. Once he was sure everyone was ready, he nodded and they all disapperated. Draco and Harry were taking the front of the cabin.

"Ready, Malfoy?" Harry asked his partner.

"Ready, Potter!" Draco flashed Harry a grin before throwing a smoke bomb through one of the windows.

Harry had found that a lot of muggle police tactics helped with capturing rouge Death Eaters. The smoke bombs released a sleeping potion in gas form on impact. It caught a lot of Death Eaters off guard because it wasn't the usual tactics that Aurors used. After a few seconds, Death Eaters began running out of the cabin. There weren't too many, and Harry was sure some of them had fallen to the sleeping gas or had found a way out of the cabin besides the front door. As soon as the Death Eaters came out of the cabin, Harry and Draco started firing spells in their direction. The Death Eaters were slightly disoriented and a few of them went down during the initial onslaught. Once they regained their bearings, spells were being fired back at Draco and Harry. Flashes of color lit up the early morning sky and Harry dodged a particularly nasty spell. He rolled on the grass and came up onto unsteady feet.

"Potter, look out!"

Harry spun towards Draco's voice while lifting his wand and mentally casting the protego charm. The shield shimmered to life a split second too late. The jet of green light hit his chest and liquid fire pierced his veins. He briefly wondered if this was what it felt like to die, but the color of the spell had been wrong. Instead of the bright green of the killing curse, this was darker, threaded with vibrant blue. Maybe this curse would still kill him. The fire in his veins seemed to freeze and then shatter. He felt the familiar tug behind his naval and figured Draco must have apparated them to St. Mungo's before darkness claimed him and he knew nothing more.

* * *

A groan escaped Harry's lips as he came to. His whole body ached, his skin was damp from sweat and little tremors wracked his body. He blinked his eyes open and quickly shielded them from the bright light. At first he thought it was the glaring florescent lights of St. Mungo's, but he soon realized he was outside and the sun was beating down on him. He sat up slowly, his head throbbing and took in his surroundings. He seemed to be at the same cabin that his team had raided, but they were nowhere in sight. Harry was sure that someone had disapperated with him, he had felt it. His team wouldn't just leave him lying on the ground outside of a known Death Eater hideout. Bracing his hands in the grass, Harry climbed to his feet. The earth spun beneath him for a moment, but the dizziness soon passed. Once he deemed himself able, Harry apparated to Grimmauld Place. Once on the steps, Harry went to open the door but found it locked. Furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, he knocked on the door.

"I gots it, mummy!"

A little girl's voice shrieked from inside and Harry's confusion only grew. Grimmauld Place was strictly for DECIT business. His team knew they weren't allowed to bring their wives, girlfriends or kids there. Harry steadied himself on the banister and the door swung open to reveal the little girl. Her hair was golden brown and sat in loose curls that went just past her shoulders. She had on a little white sun dress with a gold belt around her waist. She looked up at Harry and blinked. Harry's heart seemed to stop when her eyes met his. They were emerald green and round, wire framed glasses rested on her nose.

"Lily! What did I tell you about answering the door?!"

"To not to!"

"Exactly! I'm so sorry, she knows-"

The door had opened wider and the Mother of the child stood just behind her. She stopped mid-sentence and her eyes widened when they focused on the man on her doorstep. Harry would know her anywhere. Her warm honey brown eyes filled with tears and her small hands flew to her mouth to stifle her gasp. Harry felt his knees go weak and tightened his hold on the banister. He was speechless. This was impossible. She was _dead. _Harry had watched her die, had held her in his arms. This had to be some sort of twisted dream from the spell that hit him. Yes, that was it exactly. He would wake up and this would just be in his head. There was no way that she was standing in front of him.

"Mummy?"

The little girl's voice seemed to snap her out of whatever trance she was in and she slowly lowered her hands from her face. She kneeled down next to the little girl and said in a shaky voice, "Lily. Mummy needs you to go up to your room."

"But mummy!"

"No buts Lily Marie!"

A pout pulled down the corners of her lips, her mother's lips, Harry noted quickly, before she stomped away. Once she was out of sight, the mother's eyes hardened and she blocked the doorway into the house. Harry knew this look, he could picture it with his eyes closed. He wanted to shake his head, to pinch himself to wake up, but he couldn't stop from staring at her. His eyes drank her in.

"This isn't funny. Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Harry blinked at her stern tone, surely if this was a dream then she would be happy to see him? He took a step forward, "Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"But… I don't understand," Harry whispered, "You died. I saw you. You saved me. You jumped in front of the curse."

Hermione's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and she shook her head slowly, "No. I didn't. I couldn't get to you… him… in time. Harry died that day."

Unable to keep himself up any longer, Harry sat down on the steps, starring out at the street. He didn't understand what was happening. How could they both die on the same day and yet standing on the doorstep to Grimmauld Place? His mind was racing and he saw Hermione sit down on the step next to him. Her shoulder brushed against his and the contact sent a shock through him.

"What was the very first thing you said to me?"

Harry turned his head to stare at her, "Hermione, that was 12 years ago. Why would you think I would remember that?"

"I'm trying to see if it's really you," she said softly.

Then Hermione looked at him, her eyes filled with hope and Harry couldn't control himself. He took Hermione's face into his hands and pressed his lips against hers. It was slow at first, but then Hermione threaded her fingers through his hair just the way he liked and Harry deepened the kiss. He bit her lip gently and she gasped. Harry took the opportunity to explore her mouth with his tongue and she tasted the same way he remembered. Like strawberries and cream. After a few moments, Hermione pulled back, breathing heavily. A smile lit up her face and she threw her arms around Harry's neck, hugging him tightly. Harry wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her hair. She was here. She was real.

"How is this possible?" Hermione asked breathlessly, grabbing his face and staring at him, "You're really here!"

"I was with my team," Harry started, "We were on a mission to clear out a Death Eater hideout. I was hit with a spell I've never seen before and then I woke up here."

Hermione's nose scrunched up and she bit her bottom lip. Harry had always thought that her thinking face was adorable and he was so happy to be able to see it again. He didn't know what this was, and he didn't know if it would last, but he would take this small piece of her. Even if it was just a dream, it was a good dream and Harry didn't want it to end. If he had died and this was Heaven, then he was perfectly okay with his death. He had Hermione and that was all he needed.

"You'll have to tell me everything," Hermione's voice broke Harry out of his thoughts, "I'll have to research it and see if I can find anything. For now, let's go inside and I'll introduce you to Lily."

"Is she mine?" Harry asked quietly.

Hermione beamed at him, "Oh, Harry, you silly man. How could you ever think otherwise?"

* * *

**Tada! Chapter One! Please leave me a review and let me know what you think!**


End file.
